Every other summer my family gathers in Buffalo, NY, for a family reunion. Though I left the area when I was 10, it still feels a lot like home. I look forward to seeing my sister and approximately 500 aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins – and that’s only a slight exaggeration. Still, it pales in comparison to the family reunion I attend around this time every year. It’s called SAS® Global Forum.
OK, so maybe they’re not technically my relatives, but SAS users certainly make you feel like one of the family. It seems like every user event I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many) is a gathering of best friends, and I’m always impressed by how friendly everyone is to each other. It’s clear SAS users are part of a well-connected community and enjoy being in each other’s company and learning from one another.
That was especially true about SAS Global Forum 2018 in Denver on April 8-11. This year approximately 5,500 SAS “kin” attended the event, and I think I met about 5,200 of you. It was an honor learning about the incredible work you’re doing with SAS, and incredibly flattering to meet fans of this newsletter. Several attendees I spoke with called the event “the best SAS Global Forum ever,” and I couldn’t agree more. The talks were top-notch, networking opportunities well planned, and it was really exciting to hear from Jim Goodnight, Oliver Schabenberger, Randy Guard, Stuart Nisbet and several other SAS executives.
For those of you who weren’t able to attend SAS Global Forum, I thought I’d use this month’s SAS Tech Report to share some resources to help you get a little taste of the event.
For starters, take a look at the SAS Global Forum 2018 conference proceedings. The proceedings contain every formal paper and e-poster, along with the accompanying presentation slides and other materials. You can search the proceedings by topic, product, industry, skill level and job role. You’re sure to find a number of helpful talks, and you can download any you’d like.
If you’re more of a visual learner, you can view a number of sessions on demand from the SAS Global Forum 2018 Video Portal. Here you’ll find many of the general sessions, including Opening Session and several keynotes, a number of breakout sessions, Chris Hemedinger’s always-popular Tech Talks, and select interviews with several SAS executives, customers and users.
And it’s never too early to start planning to attend next year’s event. SAS Global Forum 2019 is scheduled for April 28-May 1 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Be sure to block your calendar!
So thanks for making SAS Global Forum such a fun family gathering. In fact, it was probably even better than the LaRusso gatherings I enjoy so much. Great food, awesome company, stimulating conversations, AND no one pinching my cheeks and telling me how much I’ve grown. Yeah, probably better.
This article originally appeared in the April issue of the SAS Tech Report. For SAS tips, tricks and resources to make you a better user, subscribe today.
